Not Over Yet
by GeneralOreiusMyHeartxoxo
Summary: The Cullens are supposedly out of danger, away from the old house, away from It. Jasper is slowly beginning to regain his strength. Peter and Charlotte have returned to the South. But it is not over yet for them, with It and danger lurking not far from them... It will take more than they expected to save Jasper... and their own lives are in the bargain. *complete*
1. Chapter 1

**So here it is... sequel to Dark Times. Hoping that you guys enjoy.****  
**

* * *

**Not Over Yet**

**Prologue**

It paced the dark, empty room. The one_ he_ had resided in. The one she had "haunted" for so long. But now_, he_ was gone.

She would see Jasper Hale again…. Of this, she was certain.

If he did not return on his own, then she would go and find him.

Her kind never had an issue finding the ones they wanted. Never. It was an impossibility.

Of course, if she were to fail in coaxing him back—again, an impossibility—she could always call upon the others. Together, they were strong. Success was certain.

Jasper was weak anyway. Far too weak to resist.

So she would wait… she would patiently bide her time… in the meantime, she would return to the others. To her home.

The house was useless now. Useless when the one whose life she coveted was gone.

So she left…

And reappeared in her homeland.

**Chapter 1**

**Jasper POV**

I sat back in the chair with a soft sigh, rubbing at my aching side gingerly. It hurt really badly.

At least I wasn't so sick anymore.

Away from the house, I had recovered somewhat. Carlisle had said the house wasn't good for me, and I guess he'd been right.

I could walk now. I couldn't hunt alone, but I could still do so. I could even manage a full animal. Sometimes.

"Done with the exercises for today?" Carlisle interrupted my train of thought.

I nodded. I couldn't handle anymore.

Esme rubbed my shoulders lightly. "You're getting so much stronger, sweetie," she told me, smiling softly. "Your father was right. Getting out of that house… away from that _thing_… must've been what you needed."

I nodded. Few more doses of that cure Aro had given us, out of that house, and I was okay again.

Carlisle sighed.

"Jasper, have you seen any more of the creature?" His golden eyes bored into me, causing me to quickly become uncomfortable.

"No, sir."

"Hey now, no need for the 'sir'," Carlisle reminded me softly. "I'm just wondering." His gaze hardened somewhat, for a second time. "Are you certain, son? I've heard you sleep-talking about it as of lately."

"I'm sure, Carlisle." I rubbed at my temples. The interrogation was giving me a headache. "Just nightmares from the experience. I haven't seen It again."

After a moment, he nodded. "Alright, Jasper."

But he might not have been convinced… he retired to his study a few minutes later. Possibly doing more research, I guessed. Not that he would find anything.

I didn't understand why he still bothered. Three weeks of research and he hadn't found one thing. It was on the verge of becoming completely ridiculous, honestly.

"Jasper… Jasper, darling. Come on, Jasper."

It took all of my focus and willpower to wrench myself from my thoughts and focus on Esme. But it was like looking at her through heavy fog—her face was blurred and even her voice seemed muffled.

"Yeah?" My voice sounded far away, even to my ears.

"I said come and lie down, honey." She stopped me as I began to interrupt. "You don't have to sleep, but you do have to lie down. I'm not playing."

Resisting the urge to gripe and grumble the whole way, I went quietly, allowing Esme to take my arm and lead me to the bed, where I flopped down.

Still couldn't see. I closed my eyes, giving up.

Its form danced behind my lids.

No matter how far away we were, I would never be completely free from Its power.

* * *

The young shape-shifter opened her eyes, only to find herself in bleak, gray surroundings.

What in the…? She wondered, trying to sit up. But to her immense fear, she immediately found that she was bound to the place where she lay. To a human, she supposed it would've felt cold. To her, it seemed lukewarm. It was bearable.

With a jolt of surprise, she realized she was not alone in the room.

A man stood, with his back to her, bent over something. He was mumbling nonsense to himself as he did so, in an incomprehensible language, at least to her ears. Nonetheless, she tried to understand and failed.

After a few minutes, he straightened up and turned, starting toward her. Her hand flew to her mouth as she tried in vain to conceal her horror at the sight of his face.

It was… disfigured, to say the least.

Scars ran across his face, not unlike those of Emily Young, but far greater in number. His mouth, like Emily's, pulled down at the corner, as did the entire right side of his face. But the left side… oh God, she thought, trying not to vomit. It was nearly gone. As if it had been eaten away.

"Hello, Christine," he greeted her. "I would ask how you are doing this evening, but I can already guess your answer. Not well, hm?"

Christine's eyes narrowed, her hands clenching into fists. "Why the hell am I here? What do you want from me?"

"Is it really so hard to guess, young one?" The man looked at her with an expression of profound sadness, but his lips twitched, as if trying to smirk.

"Tell me."

"My creations want your life," he told her. "No, 'want' is not the correct word. They_ need_ your life."

Christine merely stared at him. "Creations?"

She was beginning to get a sick feeling. A feeling which told her she would not be leaving this place alive… if she left at all.

"My creations, yes." The man folded his hands behind his back and began to pace, his eerie blue eyes never leaving her. "All of my creations were once supernatural, you see. I originally tried humans, not wanting to destroy supernatural life…" he smiled at this, "but the humans did not last long. They fought amongst themselves.

"Many of them were once vampiric beings," he said. "Until I turned them into what they are now. Once the original one was created, I never had to go through that long, grueling process again. Now, I can create them by feeding a supernatural being to another."

Oh no….

"You, my dear Christine, are supernatural." The man walked over to her, placing his greasy fingers under her chin and lifting her face, tilting it from side to side, as if to get a better look at her. "Yes, you will make a fine one. Strong young one."

Christine's heart was pounding with terror, so badly that she was almost sure he could hear it, although he gave no sign of it. "No!"

He didn't give any indication that he'd heard her, merely continued talking.

"I am sorry to take such a short life, but I must. This is why I prefer older vampires, you see, rather than shape-shifters. But you were all that was available to them, and so you were chosen." He released her chin and walked over to the door.

"Maria, do you still wish to watch?"

"Of course." It was a high, musical voice which rang like a bell, and Christine's body surged against the ropes binding her. Every muscle screamed at her to phase and destroy the creature that gave the voice, but she could not. _Vampire! Vampire!_ Her mind screamed.

The bloodsucker entered the room. Her long black curls fell to her waist and she wore a snug, stylish outfit. Her red eyes were alert and bright as she looked at Christine and smirked. "Mutt."

Christine snarled, struggling against the ropes.

The man, who had been out of her sight for a few minutes, returned with a faint, ghostly figure trailing behind him. He smiled at Christine. "Lie still now, Christine. This will only hurt more if you dare struggle during the process."

She growled at him too, but forced herself to be still. Why hurt herself more during her final few minutes?

The figure approached, shimmering in and out of view as it did.

Christine couldn't even look away.

A gap in the lower part of its face opened, and it bent over her.

Christine felt a sucking sensation, and a feeling of floating… her body jerked…

And everything faded.

* * *

**Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to JasperWhitlockHale1863 for being my only reviewer.**

* * *

**Maria POV**

The night was cold, at least for a human.

Glancing up at the distant, twinkling stars and the full moon, I shivered and rubbed my arms through the sweater as a human would, just for show, of course.

A man across the street watched me with hungry eyes. He was obviously interested in me. But of course he was. Who wouldn't be? Even before my transformation, I was beautiful.

Right now, though, I was more thirsty than anything.

So I returned his gaze, forcing myself to look interested in the ugly, chubby human on the opposite street. His scent was mouthwatering, even if his looks were not at all pleasing to the appetite. He would do, at least for now.

Instantly, he was crossing the street. Bold one, I mused, expression not taking.

And quite bold, he was. He gave me a smile he obviously thought to be sexy, his eyes unabashedly roving over my enticing body. He did not get to look long.

In only a few seconds, my hands were around his neck, jerking to the side and popping in the same movement. His hot, delicious blood washed into my mouth.

The body flailed in my arms, even in death, as I finished him off. Then he went still.

Yes, I decided. A very bold one indeed. He was too cocky to make a good soldier, too irritating. I would have been forced to have Saul kill him within days.

Sighing, I took the body into the woods, heading for the nearby river, and let my thoughts drift.

Saul.

Handsome, dark-haired, a wonderful officer.

But he could never live up to my Major, now could he? Beloved Jasper had betrayed me, left me all alone, and without his help, I had to create a whole new army.

This was why I absolutely had to get revenge on him. How dare my Major leave me alone like he had? Shaking my head, a low growl slipped out.

However, it was my fault.

I'd had chance after chance to kill him recently, and for a reason I did not understand, I had not taken any of them.

I slid into the river with the fat man's body, looking for a nice big rock to store it under. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to find one. Carelessly, I heaved it upward and laid the body down before crushing it underneath the rock.

Back to Jasper.

How to kill him now? Doctor Land and I still had one of his creatures after Jasper, but what if the unthinkable happened, and it failed?

I shook my head as I moved away from the icy waters of the river. That could never happen. It was impossible.

_But Maria_, an eerie voice whispered to me, from the depths of my mind, _What if it does happen? What will you do then_?

I would think of something.

Besides, these creatures were truly incredible, and success was almost a guarantee. Watching that one devour the young mutt… Kristie, her name was? Christa?... was indescribable. And then the transformation to one of them made it even better.

Oh, what a valuable asset Jasper could be to me in that form! The army would flourish. Once again, we would be the most feared army in the South! I could even do away with that pesky Saul then!

I let my thoughts roam, exploring the potential of the possibility.

Jasper, my darling Major, would be the utmost perfect soldier. An unfeeling, mindless "ghost", existing only to serve me… and Doctor Land.

Oh, how I longed to rid myself of Doctor Land as well. But how could I? He was the only one who knew how to make the ghostly creatures, wasn't he?

So, I concluded, I would have to keep Land around, at least until I learned the process of creating them myself. It couldn't be so difficult.

The building loomed up in front of me. Old Civil War prison. There was a large, worn sign hanging above the massive door, but the words were impossible to make out.

How fitting it would be, I mused, a Civil War prison for the Confederate major. Perhaps he could tell us more about this place.

Entering the building, I idled in front of the cells, staring at them. The new thing, the former shape-shifter, was entrapped in one. She—or It—was not to be permitted out on her own yet, for fear she would attack the others and be destroyed, Doctor Land had told me.

He thought this one would be most valuable, most special, and he did not want to risk her destruction. I could understand, from my newborns, but to me there seemed to be nothing remarkable about the white thing floating in front of me. No, nothing special. She seemed the same as all the others.

I moved on.

All the other cells were empty, dusty and full of filth and muck. I ignored them other than a brief glance, making my way toward the old creaky stairs.

Doctor Land was not in his office, nor was he in his laboratory. I assumed he was with his monsters, a place he had expressly forbidden me to enter. Instead of heeding his orders, I went to the room constantly and admired them.

Sometimes, I even allowed them to speak with me, although I didn't respond, for fear I would become theirs. Oh, I wanted Jasper to be one of them, but I certainly did not want that for myself.

Would that be a good fate for my newborns? I wondered. Surely they would then retain their newborn strength forevermore, until I tired of them. But I didn't know how to destroy them, which could pose a problem. I would have to fix that. Doctor Land would tell me.

I slipped into the room, my eyes going to Doctor Land. He had his back to me, reading something off his clipboard and facing a group of monster-things.

I lounged against a wall with a lazy grin, waiting for the fool to notice. I relished angering him.

It didn't take long.

"Maria!" he cried, blue eyes widening in shock as he turned and saw me. "What are you doing in here? Get out!"

"Pardon me, sir," I said with a smirk. "I'm afraid I didn't realize I'd ventured in here." My voice was sweet, exaggeratedly Southern, and gave away my lie freely, which was I'd wanted.

He glared.

"Once you saw them, I'm fairly certain you realized where you were, Maria."

"Is that so, doctor?"

"I must insist you leave immediately." His voice wavered.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disagree." My eyes narrowed. The doctor winced, and took a step toward me.

"You do not understand the dangers of this place," he said in a placating tone. "My babies, the ones who are not familiar with you, they will not hesitate to devour you. Please, allow me to escort you out."

I glared at him, walking toward the monster-things. They were completely still, and eerily enough, I felt like they were looking at me.

I didn't like it.

Then they began moving toward me.

* * *

I quickly fled to the safety of the corridor, unable to bear the thought of being devoured. Oh, how cowardly I must have seemed!

Doctor Land followed me outside, shutting the door with a bang. He glared at me heatedly. "Maybe next time you will believe me."

I drew myself up. My expression was set in stone as I returned his stare without a word. After a few seconds, he turned and started back to his office. I shook my head at the foolish move. I could end his life with great ease that way, but I did not.

Again.

Was I going soft?

First I lost my opportunity to destroy Jasper, and now the ugly doctor.

I shook my head after a moment. Foolish thoughts. Of course I wasn't going soft—just using them for my own purposes. I would be free of them both soon enough. I would have Jasper for my puppet- forever.

Now I just needed to time Saul's death…

In the meantime, I would check on my army.

Turning on my heel, I strode out of the Civil War prison.

"Saul!"

* * *

**This chapter was meant to show both Maria's growing obsession with Jasper, and the way her mind is slowly beginning to scatter, and how she is losing her mind. She is still very intelligent, yes, but she's going insane. Hence the randomness of the chapter.**

**For my Dark Times readers- those of you that remember, because this seems like a longgg time ago, that chapter with Maria was fake. Maria is a very good actress and she was seeking a way to hurt him. This is why it took a while for the cure to work. Just putting that out there to prevent too much confusion.**

_**I prefer reviews to favorites/alerts. Please review. **_


	3. Chapter 3

**Short, more of a filler chapter, but I couldn't think of anything else. So, the purpose of this chapter is to show you lovelies how the Things think. **

Yes, they do think in third person. No, it wasn't a mistake on my part.

* * *

"**Monsters" POV**

The blood-drinker woman was annoying.

They did not like her. No, not at all.

They did not like the way she stared at them, her red—was it called red? They were not accustomed to the name of such a color, but one of Them said it was red—eyes bright with interest and malice.

In due time, she would be consumed, along with Father, the Doctor, along with the one their Friend liked, his name was Jasper.

Yes, all of the foolish ones, mortals and immortals alike, would be consumed, as was their sole purpose, and then They would be left alone, alone to do as They pleased, and They would not have to do as Father said anymore.

The Leader said as long as Father was here, as long as he fed Them and cared for Them, then They should do as he said. Of course, They listened to Leader.

Leader was key to their survival.

Suddenly, their thoughts shifted to the New One in the cage downstairs.

New One used to be a Shape-Shifter. They hadn't had one of those in quite some time, but Father liked them, so They accepted her.

One of Them wondered when she would come up and join them.

No One answered.

Why should it matter?

They had other things to worry about.

The Doctor.

Blood-Drinker Woman.

And their impending death.


	4. Chapter 4- Real chapter, not mistake!

**Guys, I am SOOOO sorry. I was in a hurry yesterday and didn't realize I uploaded a chapter for the wrong story (It was My Brother, by the way.) Here's the right one.  
**

** Chapter 4**

**Maria POV**

Only slightly interested, mainly annoyed, I followed the doctor along the dark corridor. He insisted he had something to show me that would be of great use to us both.

"Where is it?" I questioned.

"It is in a cell of the basement," he responded eagerly.

"I wasn't aware there were cells in the basements."

"Oh, but there are. They were used for the most dreadful of prisoners, you see," he explained. "And, of course, when there was no more room in the ones along this way." He gestured to the cells that we were currently passing, the ones that were seen as you entered the building. "That's my theory, anyway. The basement is quite dark and frightening, I found old weapons and such down there, as well as blood. Perhaps these cells were also used for torture."

He turned sharply, opening a door and rushing down a long flight of stairs. Again, I followed. The air grew musty as we descended the staircase.

Once we reached the bottom, I took a look around. He was correct. Dried blood was spattered along parts of the wall, on the floor. There were empty, dirty cells along two walls. He took me to one on the left wall, and stopped in the middle. It was a smaller one.

"What is that?" I asked, eyeing the contraption in the back corner of the cell. A long box made of black metal, that stood three feet high and about six or seven feet long.

"That, my dear, is the isolation box."

"The isolation box?"

"Yes. I've used it several times over the last few decades. It works quite well." His expression was quite smug.

"Are you going to explain what on earth you use it for?" I snapped.

"Well…" he appeared slightly unnerved by my death. "I use it for only one purpose, but of course it could be used for a variety of things. Death, punishments, et cetera."

"Explain."

Hurrying over to it, he opened up the top. I joined him, looking down to see that it was filled almost to the top with water.

"When I place someone inside of this, the victim is trapped in utter blackness and silence. This is specially designed so that no light, no sound, no smell, no _nothing_ can penetrate it. Unable to use their senses, the victim will go insane." He regained his smug look.

I did like the sound of it, I had to admit.

"How will it be useful?"

"Oh… oh, why, don't you see? I use it for the transition into one of my pets. When they are driven into insanity, then their minds are made perfect to be one of them. At the same time, it causes the… ah… _transformation_… to be painless for them."

"And the death part."

"It will not work on vampires, obviously. The lack of oxygen would affect nothing but their sense of smell. However, that's the torture part. It's just like being buried alive."

Even without Major's gift, I could almost feel his pride in his invention.

"The perfect torture weapon," he said.

In an instant, my plans were confirmed.

A smile stole over my face. I would use it for my own purposes. It was quite useful, he was right about that.

For my own plans.

After all, he would not need it much longer, if everything went like I wanted.

"**Monsters" POV**

They watched, not moving, as Father entered the room.

Leader issued a soundless command, one that rippled through their masses and took root in their minds. Once they understood, Leader drifted forward in a gentle, slow movement, followed by one or two others, toward Father.

"Stay," he ordered Leader. "Don't you move. I just brought you your food, so you had better stay right where you are."

Of course, Leader did not listen, as there was no reason to. But Leader paused, giving Father a chance to set down the food, the food They all needed for survival, before continuing toward him.

Father's blue eyes widened. He was scared. Amusement swept through Them. He was right to be afraid, since this would be the day of his death.

Once Leader was close to him, the rest of Them advanced as well. Father could have no chance to escape.

Dutifully, They received the thoughts Leader sent Them, the orders, and followed the commands. They swept around Father in a swirling white mass, one that was inescapable and suffocating.

The blood-drinker woman was outside the door. Ignoring her, They continued the work Leader had assigned them. When at last it was done, They moved away and Father collapsed onto the hard floor, death in his face, his body still.

"Perfect!" The blood-drinker woman exclaimed. "Now I can control you myself."

Immediately, the decision was made. Blood-drinker woman would be quite useful in gaining the one that Friend wanted, so They would allow her to believe she was controlling Them, when They would actually be using her.

It was perfect.

And then afterwards, she would be gone. They could be free.

* * *

**Obviously, their plans and Maria's don't quite match up. Hmm. We'll just have to see what goes down.**

**Please review. Also, please vote on the poll on my profile concerning this story.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Jasper POV**

They crept up on us in the dead of night. I was asleep and the rest of the family… well, they weren't expecting it, that's all.

I had to give them credit—it was a well-planned ambush, almost as good as one I would've come up with.

I had to give my family credit as well, I suppose—they fought hard to protect to me. Ultimately, however, they failed.

Two newborns—had I really become that weak, that it took only due to subdue me?—dragged me into the darkness. I tried to look back, but could not, for the life of me, see what happened with my family. I didn't hear anything, and when the things, the things like It came, I still couldn't tell, as they had no expression.

The rest of the night was spent traveling, going far away. I was not permitted to stop and rest.

When we reached our destination, I barely had time to glance at the building they were pushing me toward. The newborns released me—my limbs felt like jelly. I couldn't move them myself. They hung uselessly. But my body was being moved quickly through the air.

Once we got inside, I saw a long line of cells briefly, and then they too were gone, as I was whisked down a long staircase.

More cells. Old guns. Ammunition. Bones. Dust. Blood-spattered walls. I shuddered.

Maria was waiting by one of the cells, a smirk on her face. "Jasper," she said softly. "My beloved major." Reaching out, she caressed my face.

"No," I snarled in response, trying to jerk my head back and finding that I was unable to. "Never."

"I'm quite certain you'll change your mind soon." A chilling smile swept over her face and was gone in the next second. "If your mind is functioning later, that is."

Crossing the floor of the cell, she retrieved something from a box and returned, dangling it in front of me. Earplugs.

Where was my family? I wondered. Why hadn't they come for me? Were they all dead?

In the back corner of the cell, there was a long box made of dark metal. It was about seven feet long, three feet high. My eyes narrowed as I took this in. _Oh, god, no…_

"No light or sound can penetrate it," Maria said in a careless tone, following my stare and going to take off the lid. She got something off the floor and returned to pull a pair of gloves over my hands quickly. Producing a long piece of rubbery material, she wrapped it around my body and tied it, pinning my arms to my chest. "You will have no senses. It was the doctor's old toy… he liked making the transition into a monster painless."

"Maria, please, you can't put me in there."

"Ah, but I can, and I will." She stuck the earplugs into my ears, and they must've been special, for I was suddenly deaf, to my shock. Once they were securely in, she gestured to the monsters beside me, and I was drifting forward again, forward and up a little, then gently whisked through the air so I was lying on my back... I managed to twist my head to the side…

The box was filled with deep blue water.

Of course, this was not new to me—being buried alive. It had been one of her favorite punishments, for me in particular, because I couldn't stand. It killed me.

My control broke sharply, and I screamed as I was forced into the water. "No! Please! Don't put me in there! No-" My head went under.

Black walls rose up around me. Silenced, I stared up at the watery light above in a panic, begging with my eyes.

The top of the box slid over it, banging shut.

Darkness.

* * *

It was very, very dark, and utterly silent.

This in itself was bad, but not the worst. The worst part was the lack of an emotional climate. The nothingness of it all threatened to suffocate me. I needed emotions, it was all I knew.

I tried to ignore it, to focus instead on the silence and blackness, but that made it worse. I felt nothing… Couldn't feel my body… nothing… My arms were useless dead things, bound to my chest, and I couldn't even kick my legs, for they too, were dead. Soundlessly, I sobbed.

Everything ceased to be.

Nothing…

There was nothing around me.

Emptiness.

I wondered if the world was just a dream, if I had always been here.

Had the world ever existed? Had I made it up? Made it all up, an elaborate fantasy, to get away from this torture? This _hell_?

Or did hell even exist? What did that word even mean?

As if the bleakness of my thoughts was simply too much, an image came. A face with bright and laughing golden eyes, spiky dark hair. A name, vaguely heard through the pounding silence. _Alice._

Who was Alice? A mere dream? A fantasy?

Yes, of course. If the world had never existed, how could another person?

But just the same, the image was all I had, so I clung to it. Then, eventually, even that disappeared and was forgotten instantly. I couldn't recall what it had been.

Maybe it had never been there to begin with.

I didn't think it had. I didn't think there had ever been anything but me. Just me, Jasper, trapped in this black emptiness, with nothing else in the world.

My mind tried to protest, tried to say differently. Words came. _Colors. Alice. Family. Fighting._

What were "colors"? What was "Alice"? I didn't understand, couldn't make sense of them.

Just meaningless things I Had dreamed of.

I had always been alone, and I had always been the only thing to exist, and this was the way it would be forever.

Or… or had it been that way?

Impossible.

Because _I didn't exist either._

Nothing had, so there was no way I had.

There was no one here… no "I". No one was even thinking these words…

No… no… no… no nothing… Never… no… what…?

I screamed.

No one came.

* * *

**Thoughts?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimers That I Kept Forgetting to Put: **

**I do not own Twilight. I just like to play. **

**I do not take credit for the isolation box—I got the general idea from a book by L.J. Smith and borrowed it for this. **

**Last Chapter.**

**Chapter 6**

The isolation box stood in the corner of the cell. The screaming from within had ceased just under two hours ago.

Maria's lips curled into a smile as she took in the still and silent box. She then spun on her heel and disappeared up the stairs.

**Carlisle POV**

Emmett, Edward, and Alice were with me as we approached Jasper's new location. At this point, Edward could hear Maria's thoughts, although from them, he gained no information on how or where exactly Jasper was.

"Can we do this?" I asked, looking at the big building.

"The newborns are all out hunting for the next few days. Maria believes that we are all dead or dying, and are no longer a threat to her. It should be fairly easy, so long as we can keep those… things… away from us." Edward's voice was confident.

"Can you hear Jasper's thoughts?"

"No, I can't. I do hear a low buzzing noise though, from someone's head… It could be from those monster-things though. I doubt it would be Jasper."'

Little did we know how wrong it was.

Emmett and Edward went in first. Between the two of them and the fact that it was a great shock to Maria, she didn't stand a chance. Just in case we couldn't find Jasper on our own, we didn't kill her, but left her head separated from her body.

"I still hear the buzzing," Edward told me, brow furrowed and expression confused. "But that's strange. The things aren't anywhere near the source… and believe it or not, they actually think in words."

"They do?"

"it rather reminds me of the Quileute wolves, actually," he replied. "They think as a… pack, of sorts, like they do. They think _together_, Carlisle. And they're all shut away in a room upstairs."

"Well…" As fascinating as the creatures sounded, as much as I wanted to learn more, there were far more pressing matters at hand. "Let's focus on Jasper for the time being. Where is the buzzing coming from?"

"I… Let me follow it…" Edward walked around for a few minutes before his gaze settled on one door, and he quickly went to it. "Down here." He opened the door to reveal a steep flight of stairs, and without waiting for us, he rushed down them. We all followed.

"Daddy…" Alice whispered. "Do you think Jasper is alright?"

As was my instinct, I started to reassure her and tell her of course he was, but something stopped me. "I don't know, Alice."

Edward was by now in a cell, one of several, and he was pulling the top off a long dark box in the corner of one.

"Edward…. What on earth?"

"Jasper," he muttered, lifting something out of it. As he turned, something akin to relief rose in me as I saw what he held so gingerly.

Jasper, eyes closed, body dripping with water, limp in his brother's arms, but alive and whole.

"Oh, Jazz!" Alice cried, dancing across the floor. "You're alive!"

At the sound of her voice, hazy black eyes blinked open.

"Son?" I crossed the floor toward them, studying him. "Are you alright?"

He gave no response.

But, I noticed with a chill, he was starting to drool a bit, his eyes open and vacant.

"Jazzy?" Alice whispered, beginning to sound fearful.

Nothing.

"Let's get him home," I said finally. "There's nothing more we can do here. Emmett, please go dispose of Maria."

Emmett went up the stairs, and we heard a snap, a growl, and then the flames crackling.

At least she was gone… right?

* * *

One Month Later:

Jasper never came back to us—we never again would see the brave Major, nor would we ever again see the Jasper we'd all come to know. Whatever the box had been, it had been enough to destroy everything he was, leaving in his place a drooling, vacant-eyed_ thing,_ something empty of all life.

So, we came to the conclusion that killing him would be a mercy.

Because Jasper would not want this.

He wouldn't want us to cling to him, to what his empty shell of a body. No, he would want us to let him go. Surely after all he had been through, he deserved to rest.

I reflected upon these thoughts as I watched Emmett gently set him down in the yard, Rosalie clinging to her husband's arm. We stood in a semi-circle around the thing that had once been my son.

"Goodbye, Jasper."

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhliiiiiceeeeee ee," he cried, and made a little cooing noise.

Immediately, her arms were around him. "Oh, Carlisle, we can't," she wept. "Why do we have to kill him? He's my husband."

"Not anymore, Alice," Rosalie said sharply, dragging her off. "He's not anymore. Now he's just a shell. Let it be."

Alice cried.

I clicked the lighter and threw it onto Jasper.

The flames licked up his shirt.

"Ahhhhhhhliiiiceeeee," he said again, and then, as the flames crept toward his face, he screamed in pain. I froze. He… could still feel. Oh, God, what had we done?

Alice cried more.

In just a few minutes, the body was reduced to ash.

And just like that, it was over.

**"Monsters" POV**

Free... They were finally free…

For Father was gone, and the blood-drinker woman was gone… all of the chains binding Them to this terrible room, gone…. At first They only roamed the prison, and then ventured out into the world.

Killing was great fun.

Eat. Kill. Eat. Kill. Eat. Kill.

But They had lost the vampire that one of Them wanted… although none of Them were upset by the loss.

After all, what was one life, when They could choose from millions?

* * *

**And that's the end of the Dark Times think. There ended up being more votes toward a sad ending, which I leaned toward anyway, because it's just easier.**

**What happens next? Leave it to your imagination. There won't be more about this stuff posted. However, you can check out My Brother, another of my Jasper fics, and in a few weeks, I am considering posting a new fic called "The Major and His Little Girl", but don't get your hopes up. I'm working on the second chapter.**

**Thank you for staying with me and continuing to read on this journey.**

**Let me know what you thought.**


End file.
